This disclosure relates generally to a device to be implanted during orthopedic surgery, and more particularly, to a soft tissue fixation device.
Reconstructive surgery may be required after a patient injures a ligament, for example, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee joint. In ACL reconstruction, a replacement soft tissue or ligament (xe2x80x9cgraftxe2x80x9d generically) is often used. The graft is affixed to a bone of the patient, such as the femur or tibia, to secure the graft while the graft attaches to the bone. In one method of affixing a graft to a bone, a tunnel is drilled through the bone, and a portion of the graft is inserted into the tunnel. A mechanical fastener, such as an interference screw and wedge, may then be inserted into the tunnel, thus holding the graft in the desired position.
However, such prior art fasteners are prone to allow slippage of the graft (xe2x80x9cgraft slippagexe2x80x9d) for a variety of reasons, resulting in undesirable loss of tension on the graft. Graft slippage is a very serious problem, impairing the efficacy of the reconstruction procedure, and in some cases even necessitating a second surgery to reposition and tension the graft. Moreover, during installation, sharp edges on the wedge or screw can cut or fray the graft, sometimes damaging the graft beyond usefulness. Also, it is sometimes difficult to judge the length of graft inserted into the bone tunnel, thus, too little of the graft may be engaged by the mechanical fastener, resulting in graft slippage.
Therefore, what is needed is a device to securely affix a graft to a bone. Moreover, the device should be contoured to prevent damage to the graft. Finally, the device should allow a surgeon to readily estimate the length of graft inserted into the bone tunnel.
Accordingly, an embodiment of the present invention provides for a soft tissue fixation device for being biased between a soft tissue graft and an interference screw in a bone tunnel. The device has a contoured body portion having an inner surface and an outer surface. A plurality of spikes protrude from the outer surface of the body portion, the spikes extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the body portion and parallel to each other. The distal ends of the spikes define a flat plane. A pin axially extends from the body portion for receiving a portion of the graft.
The device may be used in any procedure where a soft tissue or ligament graft needs to be directly affixed to a bone, such as knee ligament reconstruction, or other soft tissue reconstructions used in orthopedic surgery. One advantage of the embodiments described herein is they each securely affix the graft to the bone. Also, the embodiments are contoured to prevent damage to the graft. Finally, the embodiments allow a surgeon to readily adjust the length of graft inserted into the bone tunnel, thus improving the ability to properly tension the graft at the time of initial fixation.